Fred O'Connor has been named Florida Atlantic University's wide receiver coach, announced Howard Schnellenberger, FAU's Director of Football Operations and Head Coach.

"Fred is a total package for our fledgling program," said Schnellenberger. "He has coached at the collegiate level, in the NFL, and has worked for a fortune 500 company and translated that experience into working with sports clubs where he managed people and helped to generate millions of dollars."

FAU will welcome the first recruiting class in less than a month and O'Connor, who officially joins the coaching team August 1, will welcome the class, as well as assist in the final stages of the Tom Oxley Center construction, which will open in the weeks following the team's arrival.

he gained his collegiate experience at Catholic University of America where he served as the executive Director of Athletic Programs from 1984-90. While at Catholic University, he supervised a building project of a 100,000 square foot state-of-the-art athletic center. He also served as head Football Coach in 1989, a season that tied the school record for most wins (8-2).

Following the NFL career which took him to the San Francisco 49er's. Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins and the CFL's Montreal Alouettes where he served as head coach, offensive coordinator, and position coach for hall of Famers O.J. Simpson, Walter Payton and John Riggins. He has also worked at the Xerox Corporation.

Most recently, O'Connor managed the Club Sports International in Boca Raton where he served as a regional manager for the state of Florida. He managed an 80,000 square foot club and was responsible for a $5 million budget. From 1990-96 he worked with Smith Club Management as the general manager of the Worldgate Athletic Club, a 116,000 square foot club and where he was responsible for a $6 million budget.

He earned a B.S. in Health and Physical Education from East Stroudsburg University in 1962 and has been honored with the University's Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award.